Someday summary

I haven't done one of these in a while! You know one of those update in my life kinda thing so I thought I would do one now. And when I mean now I mean on the N train on the way to work. Sometimes I think I think better when I'm on the train because playing my games gets boring and you're surrounded by other people thinking or sleeping. So why the heck not. 

First thing popping into my head is schools coming back. I'm ending my winter break and school is starting this Monday. Nervous and excited are my usual feelings. But I am pretty stoked that I have three day of school only and two of the three end at 12pm so that's a plus! 

There was a huge snow storm this week in NY. You might have heard it as snowstorm Jonas (Brothers). It was pretty awesome and for the first time in a while me and my dad went sledding. We bumped into about a gazillion kids but that's the best part. Its kind of a right of passage. "Did you really go sledding if you didn't bump into people?" It's also not as bad as it sounds and we got crashed into a bunch as well. It's equally fun for both the crasher and crashee. 

I've also been working on my skin. Not like trying out a bunch of different products that help my skin but overall treating my skin/ body right. You know the drill. Drink lots of water preferably eight cups, sweat, and eat properly. I've been doing it for almost a week and let me tell you that face feel like a baby's ass. Of course a nice clay mask at night always helps. Which I shall be doing tonight 👍

I'm also thinking about the dreaded future. Am I making the right choices? What do I love doing? Is it what I'm studying for? It's so confusing and you would think that figuring it out would be fun but  sometimes it's just draining. Don't get me wrong it is fun to try new shit out but sometimes it just nice to know what you want and like and just focus on that rather than going in a million different directions. I'm trying to figure it out in a way that works the best. I guess everyone is.

This was one weird and deep summary but hey it's all good. Better out than in! 

I hope you're having a great day where ever you are physically and emotionally. 

:) 

Oatmeal & Cranberry Cookies! 

I can honestly tell you that when I was little I hated oatmeal cookies with a burning passion. I hated the oatmeal but the worst was the raisins. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE, ITS RIDICULOUS! There is no way around them. If you pick them  out all you would have left would be remnants of a cookie you wish was chocolate chip. Its a total travesty. 

HOWEVER! My dad loves oatmeal cookies and had requested them this week. So off to the lab I call my kitchen to convert all my oatmeal raisin anger into some creative energy.

My first mission was those freaking raisins. I switched them for cranberries. Less sweet, more tart! Its key! Oatmeal raisin cookies are too sweet for me and the balance the cranberries give is just a perfect balance.

Next! Those oatmeal chucks in my cookie are insane! Grind those bad boys up. Give them some texture other than huge. Take out all your hate for them and go at them. Knife, blender, magic bullet, doesn't matter just go for it! This idea came from my cousin. You'll soon learn she the OG Master who will take over the world.    

The combo of these two things made this cookie taste like and I quote crack cocaine. I do agree though. 

 

Grind those oats!

How the butter and sugar creamed together should look like. 

What it should look like when you add your eggs. 

Ingredients

1 cup of flour 

1 Tablespoon of cinnamon 

1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking soda 

1 1/4 teaspoon of Salt 

1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar 

1/4 Cup of White Sugar 

10 Tablespoons of Butter

2 eggs 

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla 

2 cups of Oats 

1 Cup of cranberries 

1.) Mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl, which is your flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. 

2.) In your mixer or bowl beat the softened butter and sugar till creamy and pale. 

3.) Throw in your eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. No more than "incorporated"! I mean it! Just trust me. I got you.

4.) Next throw in all your dry ingredients.

5.) Lastly throw in your grinded oats and cranberries. 

6. )Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit. I had them in for 18 mins cause mine were pretty big. You pretty much want it to puff up in the center and have gold edges. You want them to be underdone so that you can cool them on the pan and they will still be chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They stayed this way for three days straight. After that I couldn't tell you cause by then they were all gone.  

P.S.- If you're experiencing blizzard Jonas, be safe! Stay inside and have a calm and chill day! I'll be baking some bread to make Philly cheese steak sandwiches for dinner.

:) 

Homemade Shake Shack!

If you've ever been to NYC or ever plan on coming, you know you have to eat at a Shake Shack. Its like your initiation as a true New Yorker. You have to say you have bit into one and tasted all the delicious hype. Its like Cali's In & Out or Louisiana's Cafe Du Monde.

But if your lazy like me and don't want to leave the comfort of your own home, you can do what I do and make them at home! 

All you will need is :

1 Pound of Ground Beef 

Martin Potato Buns 

Some Buttah to Shmear

Head of Lettuce 

Slices of Tomato

American Yellow Cheese 

The Famous Shack Sauce (Recipe Below!) 

Salt & Peppah to Taste

& if you want to go all out grab a bag of frozen fries. 

Making the burgers is pretty straight forward, fry the meat, melt the cheese, top it with all the goods, and chomp right into it. But there are a couple of tips I think make a really good fake Shack Burger.

First things first, the Shack Sauce is the key. This is the number one difference to all burgers. If the only thing you make is this, you are already ahead of the game. 

The ingredients you need are: 

1/2 cup mayo 

1 Tablespoon Ketchup

1 Tablespoon Mustard

1/4 paprika 

1 Tablespoon Pickle Juice

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper 

Pinch of Paprika 

***You can keep this in the fridge in an airtight container for a while!***

Tip 2: You can't forget to shmear that buttah on those potato rolls and then toast them to perfection. Its practically the cherry on top. Also the Martin Potato brand is the exact buns used at real Shake Shacks!

At this point I like to throw the fries in the oven, so by the time your burgers are done your fries will be hot and crispy. As they all should be. I used the OreIda brand, they're my go to bag of frozen fries.  

 

Tip 3: Making the burger meat into little pucks that look like the ones above is one reason why their burgers are so juicy. It has to do with the fats not fully being rendered out in the center. There's some weird science to this method of cooking the burgers and it's the legit way of making them. Basically, the idea is that you cook the pucks, then once it has its crust, squish 'em thin, flip 'em, and cook to medium. 

Danny Meyer, the owner of Shake Shack even patented the tools he used to squish the patties!

The method & science behind the magical burgers: 

http://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-make-shake-shack-burger-at-home-epicurious-secrets-article

My make shift version... hahaha. You gotta do whatcha gotta do. Ya know? 

YUMMY!!!

Tip 4: Dip the fries in your Shack Sauce, its the bomb. 

Goodbye 2015!

I've never really been the girl to party away the years end. I prefer to spend the time with my family watching the ball drop and saying Happy New Years to everyone rather than to be at a huge party. This year the events leading up to the countdown consisted of me just relaxing in my living room. I find that being at my most relaxed state is the way that I like to start the year. Its calming, relaxing, and allows me to think about the year to come but most importantly, the year that's passing by.  

This year was filled with its ups and downs and when I get real old I want to be able to look back at 2015 and remember it for all it was... A beginning and an ending.

One of the biggest things accomplishment for me was switching colleges. I went from being in a college where I always felt like I would only be at square one to a college where I can actually excel at something I find interesting. The transition alone had helped me get out of a little rut that I was in and now going to school is something I look forward to doing. 

Another accomplishment was getting a job. This seems so silly because everyone can get a job. But when you're so busy from being in school to trying and figure life out, finding the perfect job that looks good on your resume seems impossible. It may not be my absolute dream job but its a good start and I got some time to spare. 

The last accomplishment I wanted to write about, and to me the most important, is being more involved in social media. Spending more time in blogging and making YouTube videos are by far the accomplishment I am most proud of. I think it might be because it took me so long to really get started and be more devoted to it. However, being able to creating content and getting better or even getting worse at making videos is something I've always wanted to do. Even if it takes me nowhere at least I can always look back on it. 

This year might have been rocky in the beginning, but 2015 turned around and made it one of the best years by not actually ending. On paper I will have to write 2016 but all the good things and habits that I have created will continue to persist into this year and wherever that takes me is what I am most excited for. However, if this year is starting out rough for you, then I suggest keeping your head up because it WILL get better and it WILL be worth it.

 I pinky promise. 

:)

What are some your accomplishments in 2015? 

Birthday Dinners! 

This week was a rather big week for me. I FINALLY turned 20!!! Whoooooo!! It actually feels really weird, I keep wanting to tell people that I'm still 18 but I can't. I'm a bit sad because I'm no longer a teen and according to my law class I can't void a contract anymore. Haha, I'm such a dork. 

However, I cant wait for all the weird adventures this year will bring and all the people I will meet and places I will see. Even turning 21 is still a huge event I'm looking forward to! I think I might be getting way ahead of my self there so let me just start with turning 20...

I was super lucky this year because I got to celebrate multiple times through out my birthday week. Mainly cause my birthday had landed on the same day I had a lot of finals, so celebrating with everyone that day would have been tough. So instead, I celebrated on Sunday at Butter for brunch! 

The menu was so epic and different and the place was beautiful! 

 To start we had a basket of warm goodies and sweet. That doughnut in the picture was sooo good!! Then we had to try the gnocchi mac and cheese that was completely covered in strips of bacon. Isn't that just everyone's dream? Cause it's definitely mine! Then I had my burger, but the fries was the true heroes! I dipped each and every single one in that garlic ailoi dip on the side and last but not least, I stole some of my mom's brioche french toast topped with sugar and fruit. And let me tell you, it tasted fifty thousand times better than it looks! It was perfectly creamy, fluffy, sweet, and acidic! 

The next day I got to celebrate was on Tuesday, the actual day of my birthday. I had finished my finals and meet up with two of my favorite peoples! We went to an ice cream place first because there was a 45 mins wait to our restaurant. So I got a sugar cone with Thai ice cream which was so so good! It literally tasted like Thai ice tea but in ice cream form. 

Then once we were finished we headed to our restaurant and where we order pork buns, spare ribs, and chicken wings. And let me tell you that they were SO BOMB! The chicken wing was fried to perfection and coated in this sauce that was perfectly acidic, salty, and light. The pork buns were fluffy, soft, and had a squirt of mayo to coat a piece of pork belly that was tender and smothered in sauce. Can you tell that I might be in love with the pork buns? haha. 

  

Finally our ramen came, and what can I say, it had it all. It had a buttery soup base, chewy noodles, more tender pork, and was completely garnished with mushrooms and scallions. Utter perfection, I tell you, utter perfection! 

I'm going to stop now cause I'm making me hungry and I'm probably making you hungry. Is it too late to say sorry? I will say that I am beyond grateful for everyone who celebrated my birthday with me and that this birthday was ah-mazing!!

Orange Hot Chocolate Recipe! 

Click the Video Below!!!

Harney & Sons Soho!

You know that day when it absolutely gorgeous outside and you wonder why the heck you're going to school and work? Yea, that was me the other day. It was so beautiful, so instead of being a responsible student I decided to ditch everything and enjoy some really good scones. 

We went over to Harney and Sons in SoHo, which is this beautiful tea place. The second we stepped in we were instantly smacked in the face with the smells of fresh tea and buttery scones. It was hands down the best greeting ever.  At first we looked around the store to see all the little tea stuff they had but we couldn't contain ourselves, so we continued all the way to the back where the dining area is. We order vanilla scones with clotted cream and jam, ham and gruyere scones with ground mustard, along with caribe tea. It is a black tea with flavors of strawberry, guava, coconut, and hibiscus. 

These scones were unbelievably delicious! They came out warm to the touch and were plated so simplistically. They were not at all what I was thinking they were going to be. They were super soft and fluffy on the inside and had just a bit of a crunch on the outside. Sorta toasted to perfection in a way. I loved the vanilla scones with clotted cream and instead of the jam, we drizzled the honey from the tea. It was a match made in heaven. The clotted cream literally melted in my mouth. 

The ham scones, on the other hand,  were perfect just on their own. When you took a bite you could see the semi crunchy pieces of ham and little bits of pulled guyere cheese. I think the ham scones were my favorite. They just had the right balance to them. 

I literally felt like I was in a British movie just having tea and scones. It was so much fun and if I had to re do it and miss school, I'm not gonna lie I'd do it again.  

P.s.- I dont ever skip anything. Missing one day of school is like a sin for me but I've been on top of my school work and it was a day well deserved.

:)  

They had a wall of tea! It was massive and very impressive.